Today debuted on 14 January 1952 and was the first of its genre on American television in the world. Originally hosted by Dave Garroway, Today was received coolly by the critics at first (it suffered, initially, from an overdose of gadgetry), but settled down to become one of the most commercially successful programs in the history of the medium.
A potpourri of news, interviews, time-and-weather checks, guest performances, and conversation, the show beat back all competitive efforts to curb its dominance of the early-morning hours.
Originally a two-hour program on weekdays, it expanded to Sundays in 1987 and Saturdays in 1992. The weekday broadcast expanded to three hours in 2000, and to four hours in 2007.
Barbara Walters was hired as a Today writer and researcher in 1961, making her first appearance that August with a segment on the Paris fashion show. She was appointed as a reporter in October 1964 and became the show’s first female co-anchor upon Frank McGee’s death in April 1974.
Anchors Dave Garroway (1952 – 1961)
John Chancellor (1961 – 1962)
Hugh Downs (1962 – 1971)
Barbara Walters (1961 – 1976)
Frank McGee (1971– 1974)
Jim Hartz (1974 – 1976)
Tom Brokaw (1976 – 1981)
Jane Pauley (1976 – 1989)
Bryant Gumbel (1982 – 1997)
Deborah Norville (1990 – 1991)
Katie Couric (1991 – 2006)
Meredith Vieira (2006 – 2011)
Ann Curry (2011 – 2012)
Matt Lauer (1997 – Current)
Savannah Guthrie (2012 – Current)
News Anchors
Merrill Mueller (1953)
Frank Blair (1953 – 1975)
Lew Wood (1975 – 1976)
Floyd Kalber (1976 – 1979)
Tony Guida (1979)
Tom Brokaw/Jane Pauley (1979 – 1981)
Chris Wallace/Jane Pauley (1982)
John Palmer (1982 – 1989)
Deborah Norville (1989)
Faith Daniels (1990 – 1992)
Margaret Larson (1992 – 1994)
Matt Lauer (1994 – 1997)
Ann Curry (1997 – 2011)
Natalie Morales (2011 – Current)
Dave Garroway (1952 – 1961)
